Case study management

Answer 1 Roopali Deshmukh understood the specific objectives of her job and how these objectives and how these objectives fit in with the overall objectives set by the board of directors. Subsequently, she implemented the MBO process as a measure to improve the productivity of her sales team. Effective planning and consistent monitoring on her part as well as the team resulted in the successful implementation of the process. The phases of the MBO process which led to the successful accomplishment of the goals, are hereby discussed: The top management instructed the targets, which set the overall organizational goals and communicated them to the people down the hierarchy. As the marketing manager of the company, having daunting targets to achieve, Roopali initiated the MBO program, inviting participation from her sales team to increase organizational performance by aligning goals and subordinate objectives throughout the organization. The management did not interfere much with the means of achieving the objectives gave adequate autonomy to its employees in the lower hierarchy to implement progress achieve their plans. She examined the current state of affairs, the levels of efficiency of her team, identifying the opportunities and threats that might have a subsequent impact, thus identifying the key result areas to be attained. She motivated the team to decide on their individual roles and responsibilities to achieve the same, and thus the company’s targets. The objectives for each member of the team were mutually set agreed upon, in context with the company targets decided by management. The next phase involved setting specific time frames with respect to achieving the set objectives, post which plans were laid down on the consistently monitoring the performance over the set goals/objectives. Deshmukh effectively and consistently monitored the individual performance of each of her team member in line with the pre-determined plans, while providing positive feedbacks to the team members for their contributions to the company targets. Such a regular monitoring and periodic review helped not only provide feedback, which is essential for completion of work in time, but also motivated the team and each of the member accountable for his/her objectives. It was ensured on consistent basis, that if there were any deviations from the  pre-determined plans/objectives decided by the team, corrective actions were taken to fix them and overcome the deficiencies. The long term organisational targets as laid down by the top management were accomplished subsequently by the team as a consequence of the MBO program, which basically being a form of participative management additionally helps and encourages the employees as it gave them a sense of belongingness in the company, for the management recognizes their effort and participation in the accomplishment of the organisational goals. Answer 2 Management by Objectives (MBO), a term popularized by the famous management guru and author, Peter Drucker in his book â€Å"Practices of Management† (Drucker, 1954) is a democratic and participative style of management, in the sense that it â€Å"requires the managers/employees to set specific objectives to be achieved in the future and encourages them to continually ask what more can be done, is offered as a partial answer to this question of organizational vitality and creativity† (Thomson, n.d.). In simple terms, MBO is a process or system designed for supervisory managers in which a manager and his or her subordinate come together and jointly set specific objectives to be accomplished within a set time frame and for which the subordinate is then held directly responsible (Thomson, n.d.). MBO involves setting up short-term goals for employees in line with the long-term objectives of the organization. MBO is thus an effective tool for planning, control and developmen t in the organisation. The MBO Process The essential steps or elements in the process of management by objectives are hereby discussed: Management Objectives/Targets Reviewed The first phase in the MBO process involves â€Å"reviewing† the targets/goals laid down by the top management, which are then passed down from one subordinate level to another. The MBO approach injects an element of dialogue into the process of passing plans and objectives from one  organizational level to another. The MBO program is initiated by the top management, which sets the overall organizational goals and communicated them to the people down the hierarchy. Setting Employee / Subordinate Objectives The subordinates then collectively develop a group of specific goals, measures of achievement, and time frames in which the subordinate commits himself or herself to the accomplishment of those goals. The subordinate is then held responsible for the accomplishment of the goals (Jossey-Bass/Pleiffer, 1998). Develop plan of action After fixing the objective, the subordinate and superior make an action plan, which will be used by the subordinates to achieve the objective. It requires assignment of specific responsibilities to different departments, division, and individuals. It also requires allocation of necessary resources needed to perform the assigned responsibilities. It also involves setting specific time frames to achieve the set objectives without delays (Daffodil University, 2009). Periodic Review and Monitoring the progress The subordinates/ team members then evaluate/measure their own performances in line with the predetermined targets/ objectives, so as to fix the deviations and take corrective actions for the same. Performance Appraisal The last step in the process involves performance appraisal of the subordinates/employees evaluated based on the objectives/targets. The employees are rewarded and provided feedback based on their performance, which helps motivate them as the management recognizes their effort and appraises them foe their participation and involvement. Advantages of the Management by Objectives Process: Develops result-oriented philosophy: MBO is a result-oriented philosophy. Managers develop specific individual and group goals, develop appropriate action plans, properly allocate resources and establish control standards. It provides opportunities and motivation to staff to develop and make  positive contribution in achieving the goals of an Organisation (Marketing World, 2012). Better communication and Coordination: Recurrent reviews and communications between managers and subordinates helps to maintain congruous relations within the enterprise and also solve many problems faced during the period. Motivation: Involving employees in the whole process of goal setting and increasing employee empowerment increase employee job satisfaction and commitment. This subsequently helps in increasing the employee morale, which has a significant impact on the organisation’ functioning. Effective control: Performance evaluation and monitoring is an integral element of the process of MBO, which is significant for achieving the organisational objectives. Actual performance can be measured against the standards laid down for measurement of performance and deviations are corrected in time. A clear set of verifiable goals provides an outstanding guarantee for exercising better and effective control in the hierarchy (Marketing World, 2012). Expedites personal leadership: MBO enables individual manager to cultivate personal leadership and skills significant for efficient management of activities of a business unit.

Does the influence of fashion editors, who has the power to manipulate Essay

Does the influence of fashion editors, who has the power to manipulate the collections of fashion designers - Essay Example There are almost too many to name individually, really. But we are fans of Versace dresses and Vera Wang wedding gowns, Chanel perfume, Gucci purses, Yves St. Laurent and Ralph Lauren clothing, Karl Lagerfeld’s unusual fashion, and Emporio Armani suits and sunglasses. The last five years in fashion has seen a radical shift from impractical to more practical clothing—at least in stores. On the runways, it’s a different story, as emaciated models walk the catwalk, pose, turn, and leave. Fashion editors can be a dime a dozen these days with all the magazines out there churning out content, but their staying power has remained in the sense that they do all of the necessary vetting for the fashion industry. III. The Pros Two pros of fashion editors follow. First of all, fashion will be predictably selected if just one editor is manipulating the collections. This means that every piece of clothing in a collection which is featured in the magazine is carefully chosen wi th delicate care. This is to ensure that the high-quality standards of the fashion industry are being met, according to the editor’s interest. ... One has to start somewhere. If a new designer’s line does not cater to the whimsy of the fashion editor, the piece on the new designer’s line might not get written, published, or shot—at all. The second worry about how fashion editors manipulate the industry is that fashion designers will not be able to succeed without being screened by an industry expert. Since the fashion world can be very picky about what it likes, the fashion editor serves as a kind of gatekeeper. Who is â€Å"in† (or popular) at the time is what en vogue, and if a type of fashion has been labeled a failure or unpopular, it could significantly damage that designer’s sales or marketing strategy. V. Anna Wintour, â€Å"The September Issue,† and â€Å"The Devil Wears Prada† Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of Vogue Magazine, was something of a legend in the fashion world because of the way she could make or break a fashion collection. She was always searching for the newest and latest design or trend. â€Å"Wintour wanted a hipper, younger Leadership, and twenty-three-year-old Cleave, an Oxford graduate with a degree in art, was given the youth page beat—the same with-it demographic that Anna later targeted, likely on her father’s advice, when she first became a fashion editor.†1 Ms. Wintour was such the stuff of legend, that her figure was immortalized in â€Å"The September Issue,† and next, likened unto that of fashion editor Miranda Priestly in Lauren Weisberger’s break-out fashion chick lit novel, The Devil Wears Prada. There was a lot of patronizing that went on behind the scenes at fashion magazines, and Ms. Priestly was no stranger to that atmosphere. In the fashion industry, particularly around editors, there is a

Marijuana Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Marijuana - Research Paper Example The drug can be smoked just like cigarette or smoked through a long pipe (bong). It can also be placed in cigars emptied of tobacco (blunts) and sometimes mixed with other drugs (Bovasso, 2001). While two states have legalized its use and 20 other states accept its use for certain medical purposes, the federal government still holds on to its consideration of marijuana as schedule 1 drug, which is a drug with higher potential of abuse and no acceptable medicinal use or no prescribed safety use of the substance (Rey & Tennant, 2002). Marijuana is an addictive drug and the user will always tend to desire more and more of it, in the event that the users stops using the drug after a long term, the person shows signs that exhibited by any other drug. They include lack of sleep, irritability, decreased appetite, frequent anxiety and craving for more drugs. The physiological responses makes it difficult for the person to stop smoking (Pope & Yurelun, 1996). Problems associated with marijuana dependency includes motivational syndrome, memory impairment, weight gain, increased risk for cancer, lower sperm counts and lower testosterone levels for men, increased risk of infertility for women, psychological dependence requiring more of the drug to get the same effect. Marijuana serves as a barrier against self-awareness, and users may not be able to learn key developmental skills (Block & Ghoneim, 1993). Since 2008, primary admission of youth rehabilitation centers have registered steady increase of 20 percent out of which 68% are marijuana addicts. Even though there is no prescribed dosage for treating marijuana addiction, behavioral initiatives have been used effectively in almost all the situation to handle the problem, these includes cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational initiatives such as giving reward to victims who have managed